The present invention relates to an improved panel. More specifically, without limitation, this invention relates to a panel made for use in portable flooring, folding tables, risers/platforms/event staging, and wall partitions.
There are numerous industries that use portable equipment and items in the preparation and production of events associated with those industries. The portable equipment used in and at these events are typically assembled and/or positioned prior to the event and removed after the event to allow alternate uses and/or different arrangements of the event venues. Examples of types of equipment that are assembled, moved and/or positioned during these events include portable flooring (such as dance floors, tent floors, stadium floors, etc.), folding tables, bench seating, event platforms/risers/staging, walls, and wall partitions.
For each of these various pieces of equipment, one of the general desirable characteristics is a generally planar shaped surface on which people and/or items will walk, stand, or are placed. Other desirable characteristics include high surface and structural durability, light weight, ease of assembly and disassembly, water resistant, various aesthetic patterns, images, and/or colors on the planar surfaces, and cost effective equipment pieces. To this end there have been numerous attempts in the art to construct various portable tables, portable floors, and the like. Examples of these attempts include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,490,577, 2,849,758, 2,907,127, 2,911,274, 3,310,919, 3,323,797, 3,450,593, 3,512,324, 3,567,260, 3,582,447, 3,630,813, 3,676,279, 3,826,056, 3,868,297, 4,144,681, 4,353,947, 4,522,284, 4,645,171, 4,680,216, 4,879,152, 4,931,340, 4,973,508, 4,988,131 5,006,391, 5,070,662, 5,061,541, 5,154,963, 5,288,538, 5,348,778, 5,496,610, 5,569,508, 5,626,157, 5,634,309, 5,667,866, 5,776,582, 5,888,612, 5,947,037, 5,972,468, 5,992,112, 6,061,993, 6,117,518, 6,128,881 6,189,283 6,227,515, 6,235,367, 6,253,530, 6,446,413, 6,445,131, 6,505,452, 6,526,710, 6,743,497, 6,753,061, 6,761,953, 6,837,171 and 6,865,856. These patents are directed at various designs for tables, panels, locking mechanisms, portable flooring and the like. These patents use less than ideal methods to construct the substantially planar surfaces and connect these surfaces.
For example, in the portable flooring industry conventional flooring panels and the methods for making the same have several drawbacks. One type of typical conventional construction includes using oriented strand board or plywood cut to a preferred size from a large blank as the core structure. The perimeter of this core is machined to provide a contour to accept an edge and the core is coated on one side with a protective film for moisture protection. An edge structure is cut to a desired length and machined to facilitate assembly to the core. Then vinyl or wood parquet tiles are manually placed with adhesive glue onto one of the planar surfaces and then pressed and cured for somewhere between six to eight hours. The excess glue is cleaned off and the locking hardware is attached around the exterior.
An alternate conventional method of making the panels includes cutting a foam core to the preferred size and machining it to provide space for the locking hardware. Steel skins are cut and sized to fit over the foam and are glued to the foam core. A laminate skin is glued to the steel skin and then the panel is pressed and cured. Then the panel is placed into a mold wherein an elastomer edging is molded around the panel perimeter. The locking hardware is installed once the panel is removed from the mold.
Both of these conventional methods result in either very heavy panels that are difficult to transport or panels susceptible to water damage. Both of these methods are labor intensive, while the show surfaces, or show skins, of these panels are susceptible to glue failure rendering these panels disfigured and/or unusable.
The conventional panels and tables include other deficiencies. These include the susceptibility of these panels and tables to damage, especially along the edges, when the panels are in transit or even in use. The prior art panels and tables lack an edging that can both hold the surfaces together and provide significant shock-absorption capability. Additionally, one category of conventional tables lack sound absorption features. They are also heavy thus lacking portability and they do not stack well or compactly thus lacking storability.
Additionally, conventional portable tables have deficiencies in their storing and stacking capabilities. These conventional tables typically either have folding legs or a pedestal style support leg. The tables with folding legs have drawbacks in that the working parts of those legs can present a hazard when the legs are being retracted and extended, for example by potentially injuring the operators hands through pinching. These conventional foldable legs typically lack adequate support once they are in an extended position based upon the mechanics of their folding characteristics. Also, these conventional foldable legs are typically attached near the perimeter of the tabletop surface. This attachment reduces the effective seating capacity of these conventional tables by restricting access at the location near the perimeter where those folding legs are attached. Thus, conventional tables with foldable legs present hazards to the table operators, can lack adequate strength to support the table and its contents, and have a reduced effective seating capacity.
The conventional pedestal type tables have their own drawbacks. Typically these pedestal type tables have a connection piece that extends outwardly from the bottom surface of the tabletop to hold the table leg. This extension, which is typically as thick if not thicker than the actual tabletop itself, severely restricts the stacking and storage capabilities of the conventional pedestal type tables. For example, the typical conventional tabletops range from 0.750 to 2.0 inches thick while the typical convention connection for the leg is approximately 2.375 inches thick. This thickness discrepancy greatly increases the amount of storage spaced need for the convention tables when not in use and increase the size of equipment need to transport and store those conventional tables.
Additionally, these traditional pedestal style tables do not typically have quick release connections between the support and the tabletop. Most stackable and portable traditional pedestal style tables require the release of multiple fasteners between the tabletop and leg or the leg and base. This substantially increases set up and disassembly times resulting in increased labor costs and the reduction of the effective use of the table.
What is needed then is a new portable table that combines a light weight and durable construction for easy and convenient transport, storage, and prolonged product life in use. The preferable table is manufactured with more cost effective, less labor intensive methods to make the panel affordable to a broad cross-section of the market. This needed table is lacking in the art.